Reel for fire hose



Aug. 3, 1954 s. E. HELBERG REEL FOR FIRE HOSE 2 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 16, 1950 M (5. @w %%M ogg d 1954 s. E. HELBERG 2,685,419

REEL FOR FIRE HOSE Filed Nov. 16, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATS iPATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a means and mechanism of coiling fire hose and especially to a novel reel construction and assembly for mechanically coiling lengths or sections of fire hose to facilitate handling and to make them readily available for attachment and use.

Any one having witnessed a fire has seen the firemen remove, uncoil and attach one section or length of hose to a fire hydrant and to attach successive sections or lengths to the first section until a sufiicient number have been connected to provide an overall length of hose required for use. Perhaps iew realize the labor and painstaking eilort expended by the firemen to make such sections or individual lengths readily available for subsequent use. After each fire, the sections or individual lengths are disconnected, laid flat and then manually rolled up into a coil with the male, exteriorly threaded end at the interior of the coil to protect the threads, and the female, interiorly threaded end disposed at the exterior of the coil so that it may be quickly joined to a preceding section.

The present invention has been developed to coil these individual sections by mechanical means whereby to save the considerable labor and effort required in the manual coiling and to assure resuiting uniformity in these coils. It is,

therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a novel construction of take-up reel or coiling device for a section or length of fire hose.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a novel means for and manner of quickly coiling a fire hose so as to make it readily available for use.

lhe present invention further oomprehends a novel portable coiling device for a fire hose and including a rotatable drum upon which the hose is coiled, and manual operating means for moving the drum over or along the extended hose and causing the hose to coil about the drum without dragging it over the surface on which it is laid.

In the illustrative and preferred embodiment, the novel device is provided with a pilot wheel arranged and disposed forwardly of the drum or rotatable member on which the hose is coiled and riding over the section of extended hose. This pilot wheel is aligned with the drum or rotatable member and tends to flatten, straighten and align the hose with respect to the drum so that as the operator moves the device forwardly over the extended hose, the hose is aligned and wrapped about the drum in a relatively tight coil.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a novel construction and arrangement of a coil-forming drum or rotatable member and a novel means and manner of coiling or wrapping a flattened section of fire hose about this drum or member without dragging the hose.

Another important feature of the present invention is a novel means and mechanism for locking the drum against rotation to prevent the coiled hose from unwinding.

The invention further resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and while there is shown therein a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification and change, and comprehends other details, arrangements or parts, features and constructions without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the novel take-up reel and showing the male coupling end of a length or section of fire hose anchored in the drum and ready to be'wound into a so-called standard form of roll.

Fig. 2 is similar view of the take-up reel but with an intermediate portion of the length or section of the hose disposed in position in the drum whereby the hose is wound into a so-called doughnut form of roll.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View in side elevation of the novel take-up reel, the View being taken from the side opposite to that of Figs. 1

and 2.

Fig. t is a top plan view of the take-up reel as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in horizontal cross section through the reel drum and its shaft.

Fig. 6 is a view in side elevation of the takeup reel assembly and showing a portion of the length or section of hose wound thereon.

Fig. '1 is a fragmentary enlarged top plan view of the take-up reel with the pilot wheel and its supporting arm or link pivoted upwardly toward or against the handle.

Fig. 8 is a view in front elevation of an alternate form of take-up reel assembly.

Referring to the disclosure in the drawings and more particularly to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, there is disclosed a novel reel assembly comprising a drum i8 having a disc ii mounted upon one threaded end of a stub shaft 52 by a castellated nut 13 and cotter pin I l (Fig. 5). The stub shaft is rotatably mounted in roller pins or bearings 55 in a hub it provided with a projection ii for receiving and securely mounting one end of a handle l8 having a hand grasping or gripping portion is at the other end thereof.

The drum ii! is provided with arcuate projections or segments 2! spaced apart an amount sufficient to receive between adjacent segments a flattened portion of a length or section of fire hose 22 of the usual or standard construction. Referring to Fig. l, the drum is shown as receiving the male threaded end 23 of the hose and securely maintaining this end Within the confines of the drum whereby the threads of this male end are protected against damage, but permitted quick and easy removal of the hose after a roll has been formed. The remainder of the hose 22 is stretched or laid out flat ready to be wound upon the drum it and about the arcuate projections or segments 2i.

To guide and align the hose as it is wound upon the drum, there is provided a pilot wheel 26 aligned with the drum iii and having a hub freely rotatable on a stub shaft in the form of a bolt or pin 26 projectin through and with the hub retained thereon by a castellated nut and cotter pin El. ihis pilot wheel has an end flange 28 for aligning, collapsing and straightenin the hose and guiding it onto the drum or rotatable member it, and the wheel is carried at the outer end or a pivoted arm or link 29 having its other end pivotally mounted on a cap screw as on the end of the stub Shaft or pin 2.

The disc ll of the hub is provided with a p1uraiity of spaced apertures or openings 3| adapted to receive the projecting end 32 of a locking pin 33 carried by the handle l8. This projecting or looking end 32 is spring'biased toward locked position by a coil spring 34 encompassing this end and maintained between a washer 35 held in place by a cross pin 36, and the exterior of the projection :7 of the hub H6. The other end 3? of the locking pin is reduced and adapted to enter a recess 33 in the projection ii for maintainin the lockin pin in released position (Fig. When this end 37 is removed, the projecting or looking end 32 will enter an aligned opening or aperture 3i in the disc ii of the drum or rotatable memher it and maintain it against rotation until the locking pin 33 is again manually retracted to the position shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 discloses an alternate embodiment of the novel fire hose in which the drum or rotatable member is rotatably mounted upon a stub shaft or pin and locked thereon by a lock nut is and a cotter pin as in Fig. 5. However, the hub 39- for the stub shaft is formed with or connected to a hollow collar or sleeve-like member ll slidably mounted on a handle 752. To prevent the drum or rotatable member and the collar or sleeve 5% from turning with respect to the handle, the lat ter is made of flat or channelled bar stock and the opening in the collar or sleeve is contoured in conformity therewith. To look the drum against rotation, a locking pin 33 similar to that of Figs. 4- and 5 is provided, but with the pin carried in a flange or projection 54 on the collar or sleeve M.

When the hose sections 22 ar disconnected after fire has been extinguished, or after the hose section is dried, the present practice is to lay each section flat and lengthwise in a straight line preparatory to coiling, and then to drag the hose over the supporting surface. This places considerable strain on the couplings and most generally rupture of the hose occurs adjacent the coupling which is probably due to such handling.

With the present device, care need not be taken to straighten out the hose but it may be coiled where it lays and may be quickly formed in a standard roll by inserting the male end 23 into the drum is in the position shown in Fig. l, or formed in a so-called doughnut roll by inserting the hose in the drum in the manner shown in Fig. 2. In the latter form the male end 23 is disposed in inwardly spaced relation with respect to the female end 43. In either form of roll the threads of the male end are protected, little or no strain is placed on the coupling or hose adjacent the coupling and the hose is not dragged as it is coiled.

After the section 22 of hose has been placed in the position shown in Figs. 1 or 2, the extended pilot wheel Ed is placed on top of the hose forwardly of the drum, and with the locking pin 33 of the drum released and placed in the position of Fig. 5, forward movement of the device by the operator grasping the handle bars or gripping portion of the handle and moving it forwardly, causes the hose to flatten and straighten and coil about the drum or rotatable member in the manner shown in Fig. 6. To permit the device to be moved about with the hose partially or wholly coiled on the drum and without danger of unwinding thereof, the locking pin 33 is released from its inoperative position to permit the looking end 32 to enter a hole or aperture 31 to thereby lock the drum to the handle and prevent its free rotation. The coiled length or section of fire hose 22 may be quickly lifted from the drum after it has been completely coiled by merely placing the device on its side.

In the device of Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, the distance between the drum to and the pilot wheel Ed is fixed, whereas in Fig. 8 the drum is slidable on the handle and moves upwardly or rearwardly thereon as the roll or coil increases in diameter.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. A device for coiling collapsible fire hose comprising a portable unit including a rotatable member having arcuate projections about which a section of the hose is adapted to be picked up and coiled, and manually operable means for moving said member in pressure contact with and over a flattened section or the hose and winding the hose about said member to form a coil as the rotatable member is moved over and in pressure contact with the hose.

2. A portable device for coiling a section of collapsible hose thereon as the device is moved over the hose, comprisng a manually movable handle, a stub shaft projecting from and carried by the handle, a cylindrical member rotatably mounted on and carried by the stub shaft, and one or more slots provided in the circumference of said member for receiving and anchoring the fire hose to said member whereby moving said handle and cylindrical member lengthwise of the hose with said member in pressure contact with the hose causes the hose to be picked up and coiled upon the cylindrical member.

3. A portable device for coiling a section of collapsible hose comprising a manually movable handle, a cylindrical member comprising a disc and spaced arcuate segments projecting laterally therefrom on which the hose is picked up and coiled, a stub shaft having one end journalled in the handle and rotatably mounting said disc, and locking means carried by the handle and adapted to engage and lock said disc against rotation.

4. A portable device for picking up and coiling a section of collapsible fire hose comprising a rotatable drum open at one end and provided with one or more slots for the reception of the male end of the hose for anchoring the hose onto the drum with the male end inserted therein, a handle adapted to move the drum over the section of hose and in pressure contact therewith, a member connected to the drum and handle forwardly of the drum for collapsing and straightening the hose before it is picked up and coiled upon the drum, and locking means for locking the drum against rotation.

5. A portable fire hose coiling device adapted to be moved over and in pressure contact with a section of collapsible hose to coil and pick up the hose thereon as it is moved thereover, comprising a rotatable drum open at one end and closed at the other and provided with spaced segments about which the section of fire hose is picked up and coiled, a shaft upon which the member is rotatably mounted, a handle mounted on the shaft, and a pilot wheel carried at the forward end of the handle.

6. A device for coiling a collapsible section of fire hose comprising a portable unit adapted to be manually moved lengthwise over and in pressure contact with the section of hose and including a rotatable drum for receiving, picking up and coiling thereon the collapsed section of hose, said drum being open at one end and provided with one or more slots for the reception of the male end of the hose for anchoring the hose onto the drum with the male end inserted therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 222,836 Neracher Dec. 23, 1879 20 1,017,532 Glenn Feb. 13, 1912 1,250,011 Reber Dec. 11, 1917 2,177,436 Lacht Oct. 24, 1939 2,466,688 Culver Apr. 12, 1949 

